Burkhead, Fisher Help Huskers Hit Milestone

One
of the most inspirational and
one of the smartest football players in Nebraska history helped the Huskers
reach a milestone Thursday. When the College Sports Information Directors of
America voted and Capital One named running back Rex
Burkhead a First-Team Academic All-American and linebacker Sean
Fisher a Second-Team Academic All-American, Nebraska became the first
school in NCAA history to claim 300 Academic All-Americans.

Somehow,
it seems only fitting that those two Husker seniors teamed up to reach that
landmark achievement. In New York this week to receive a National Football
Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award, Burkhead is a popular choice asone
of the most inspirational Huskers ever. The recipient of three
Sullivan Scholarship Awards, Fisher is arguably one of the smartest and
most dedicated Academic All-Americans in Nebraska's rich tradition of academic
excellence.

“Those
are two great scholar-athletes to help us reach that 300Academic
All-American milestone,” said Dennis Leblanc, Nebraska’s senior associate
athletic director for Academics. “With Rex, you just say ‘Why not’? He will
graduate this month after 3½ years with a 3.448 cumulative
grade-point-average in history. He’s only our second running back to be a
two-time first-team Academic All-American (Joel Makovicka is the other in 1997
and ’98). He was a first-team All-Big Ten player and ranks fifth in career
rushing yards with more than 3,200, even though he’s been injured throughout his
senior season.”

Leblanc
considers Fisher to be one of the nation’s top student-athletes. “He has 142
credit hours with a 4.0 GPA in business administration and pre-medicine,”
Leblanc pointed out. “He’s a starting linebacker (with 47 tackles) this season.
With two second-team Academic All-American honors, he’s one of 25 football
players in the history of this school with multiple Academic All-American
honors. He scored a 39 on his M-Cat exam for medical school. The best way to
frame that is the average score to get into Harvard Medical School is 35. He
works hard. Even in the summer, right after his morning workout, he showers and
comes to study hall. All the security guards know him because he’s still
studying at midnight.”

Leaders in Academic
All-Americans, Top Eight Awards

Nebraska
has dominated the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American awards and the NCAA
Top Eight awards that are often called “The Heisman of Academics”.

“I
think the importance of these awards is reflected by which school ranks second
in both categories,” Leblanc said. “We lead the all-time Academic All-American
list with 301 now, and Notre Dame is second with 227. We’re the all-time leader
in NCAA Top Eight Awards with 16, and Stanford is second with 14.”

Since
Top Eight Awards combine athletic and academic excellence with life
skill/community involvement and leadership, Leblanc believes Burkhead “is a Top
Eight-caliber guy” but the Huskers will have to wait to see who emerges from
that highly competitive list of candidates.

Academic,
athletic and life skill leadership is one of Dr. Tom Osborne’s greatest
legacies to the athletic department, the university and the state. His vision
and the emphasis he placed left a
sustainable record of athletic/academic excellence after he became the Athletic
Department’s first–ever academic counselor in the 1960s.Nebraska's never-ending
pursuit of scholastic performance is reflected in 104 Academic All-Americans in
football, the most of any individual team in the country.

Nebraska’s
nation-leading total of 301 CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-Americans
reflects the athletic department’s philosophy and overall
mindset. University of Nebraska student-athletes from all teams and all
sports combined far outdistance any other school in the country. Jeff Griesch
from our media relations staff diligently documents all athletic/academic
achievements for Huskers.com.

He
points out that to be considered for the award, student-athletes must be
sophomore status or above, maintain a minimum 3.3 cumulative grade-point
average, be a team starter or key reserve and be active in the community. Every
Nebraska student-athlete who garners first-team Academic All-America recognition
has an oil painting portrait completed in their honor, and the picture is
forever displayed in the West Stadium.

Barrefors
earned his second straight first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America award in
2012, becoming the 13th three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American across all
teams and all sports in Husker history.

The
Nebraska football team leads the nation (all teams, all sports, all
divisions) with 104 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Notre Dame ranks second
with 58 football Academic All-Americans and Penn State ranks third with 51.

The
Nebraska volleyball team leads all women's teams all-time across all sports
with 36. The Nebraska softball team is second among all women's programs with
29.

Nebraska
also leads the nation with 104 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans since 2000,
extending its nation-leading streak to 41 consecutive years with at least one
CoSIDA Academic All-American. Nebraska also ranks among the top 10 nationally
in CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in women's track and field/cross country
academic (T2nd, 13), men's track and field/cross country (T4th,
17), baseball (T8th, 19) and women's basketball (T10th, 8).

Rank

School

Total

2012-13

1.

Nebraska

301

2

2.

Notre Dame

227

4

3.

MIT

193

4

4.

Penn State

178

3

5.

Stanford

174

0

6.

Augustana (Ill.)

141

2

7.

Nebraska Wesleyan

134

5

8.

Emory

134

2

9.

Texas

124

0

10.

Florida

123

0

Bucknell

123

1

The
CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame honors former college student-athletes
who have excelled in their professions and made substantial contributions to
their communities. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a candidate must have
been a CoSIDA Academic All-America team member who graduated at least 10 years
prior to their nomination for induction.

Honorary
inductees are eligible candidates who competed prior to the establishment of
the Academic All-America program in their sport. The Academic All-America
program was created by former SMU sports publicist Lester Jordan in 1952. The
CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame was established in 1988.

Three former
Nebraska student-athletes, Dave Rimington, Karen Jennings and Pat
Tyrance, have earned spots in the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of
Fame. As of June 2009, fewer than 110 student-athletes all-time across all
sports and all teams, have been inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall
of Fame. Current Nebraska swimming and diving coach Pablo Morales, is also an
Academic All-America Hall of Fame member.

The
CoSIDA Academic All-American-of-the-Year award is given annually to the top
student-athlete in each sport as voted on by the College Sports Information
Directors of America. A total of 10 Nebraska student-athletes have won the
CoSIDA Academic All-American-of-the-Year award 15 times with winners coming
from seven NU sports.

A
total of 13 Nebraska student-athletes have earned CoSIDA Academic
All-America recognition on three occasions during the Husker careers,
including just a trio of three-time first-team CoSIDA Academic
All-Americans. The following list includes all of NU's three-time Academic
All-Americans across all teams and all sports, dating back to the inception of
the CoSIDA Academic All-America program in 1952.

A
total of 69 Nebraska student-athletes have earned CoSIDA Academic
All-America recognition on at least two occasions during the Husker careers,
including 13 three-time Academic All-America selections (listed below in bold). The
following list includes all of NU's two-time and three-time CoSIDA Academic
All-Americans across all teams and all sports, dating back to the inception of
the CoSIDA Academic All-America program in 1952.